Written by David Reynolds And Chris Williams And Mark Dindal
Directed by Mark Dindal
Pacha: "Why did I risk my life for a selfish brat like you? I was always taught that there was some good in everyone, but, oh, you proved me wrong."
Kuzco: "Oh, boo-hoo. Now I feel really bad. Bad llama."
I'll admit that this movie was a recent watch for me. As someone who's a fan of Eartha Kitt, I do slightly regret not watching this one much sooner but what can you do?
In this movie, she's the scheming advisor/alchemist Yzma and she's out to take over the Incan empire. Considering that the emperor in question Kuzco (David Spade) actually sucks at being an emperor and thinks that tearing down a village was the way to celebrate turning eighteen, perhaps Yzma had a point.
Unfortunately for Yzma, she had a rather incompetent henchman in the form of Kronk (Patrick Warburton). Instead of killing off Kuzco, the latter ended up being changed into a llama and let's just say, it took Kuzco a while to prove he was capable of being a decent person.
It somewhat helped that he ended up being paired with villager Pacha (John Goodman). The whole Kuzco and Pacha dynamic made the movie. They're a fun pair who undermined one another as they gradually grew to rely on each other.
As a villain though, there's something delightfully menacing about Yzma. While she's not as iconic as other bigger Disney baddies, I liked how ruthless she got as things went along. Saying that, it took little for Pacha's family to get the better of her and Kronk's last minute heel turn somewhat became her undoing.
- Kuzco was named after Peruvian city, Cuzco. It still exists in the Andes mountains.
- Despite some similarities, it's not based on The Emperor's New Clothes.
- Standout music: My Funny Friend And Me and Perfect World, both courtesy of Sting and Tom Jones.
- Chronology: South American during the Incan empire.
The Emperor's New Groove turned out to be a fine 2000s addition to Disney animated movies. While I don't think it's a classic, there's plenty of fun to be had and Eartha Kitt unsurprisingly steals the show from David Spade and John Goodman, though they're good too.
Rating: 7 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment